The Black Fortress
The Black Fortress, (Chernaya Krepost, черная крепость, 黑色堡壘) is the supreme military headquarters of the Eastern Coalition on the American continent. Occupying an area over twenty-six square kilometers, the outer edge of the base is marked by thiry-foot walls of black reinforced plastic. Description The Black Fortress follows modern fashions in siege-resisting fortresses, being built low to the ground and possessing extensive underground installations. The most notable features of the fortress are the sheer black walls that give it its name, and the thin, sixteen-storey spotting tower used by the fortress to spot for its artillery and anti-aircraft defences. History In 2055, Coalition forces launched a series of heavy assaults on fortified mech positions in eastern California and Nevada, intended to push back threatening forces and establish safe zones for civilian settlement. The assaults were successful, destroying a number of mech facilities and at least three dreadnoughts. Determined to maintain their new front line, the Coalition leadership deployed two engineering battalions to fortify Lone Mountain, a rocky outcrop a few miles west of Tonopah, Nevada. Over a hundred and fifty miles northwest of the Raider stronghold of Las Vegas, the Lone Mountain quickly became both a political and military totem for the Coalition, leading to the establishment of six full-strength infantry battalions to support the facility, along with eighteen support and auxiliary battalions. It is the strongest Coalition position outside California. In 2068, the Black Fortress was attacked by an overwhelming mech force, controlled by two dreadnoughts and consisting of over ten thousand units. Observer units of the Ranger Division had shadowed the force on its march west, and carried detailed reports on the Black Fortress's defences back to New New York. These reports highlighted the Fortress's extensive artillery park, long-range anti-aircraft capacity, and highly resilient walls. Structure Secret Coalition documents have been captured detailing the overall structure of the Fortress. It is roughly pentagonal in shape, with each point guarded by three bastions, each of which holds a heavy artillery detachment and covers the flanks of the Fortress. The outer walls are composed of steel-reinforced concrete overlaid with reactive panels of plastic-ceramic composite, designed to withstand almost any conventional weapon. There are only three entry points through the outer walls - the main gates, which pass through a narrow, zig-zagging tunnel; and the two sally ports, one on the north side and one of the west. Both sally ports are only three meters wide and are designed to only allow vehicles to exit, with ramps and access paths preventing enemies from bringing vehicles close to the Fortress. The inner fortress has a secondary ring of walls, protecting the barracks, offices, storehouses and other facilites within the Fortress. Defences The primary defence of the Black Fortress is its walls, constructed of steel-reinforced concrete encased in anti-ballistic plastic-ceramic composite. These walls are effectively impenetrable by any conventional munition. Its gates and sally ports are protected by zig-zag tunnels, murder holes and internal gates, as well as multiple rings of automated turrets and laser shields. The Fortress is surrounded by two main and six subsidiary minefields, mostly consisting of shaped-charge anti-vehicle mines, capable of detecting and destroying wheeled, tracked and air-cushion vehicles. Fifteen small artillery parks surround the Fortress, one in each of the bastions guarding the flanks of the Fortress. These parks appear to be equipped with the PLZ-98 self-propelled 122mm howitzer, with two larger parks in the inner Fortress equipped with 155mm howitzers and surface-to-surface rocket batteries. The anti-aircraft batteries are evenly spaced in the zone between the outer and inner walls, positioned on artificial raised areas in order to afford them the maximum field of view. They consist of both quick-firing artillery and surface-to-air missile emplacements. Facilities The Black Fortress is designed as both a defensive installation and a civic control point, and as such is equipped to carry out a governance role, containing a large prison facility, offices for local leadership and barracks and housing for civilian contractors. It is equipped with two helipads, and an airstrip just outside the walls is capable of handling even heavily-laden cargo aircraft. Complement Estimates place the military manpower of the Black Fortress at between six and ten thousand, including noncombat support units and reserve formations. Civilian occupants number less than two thousand, although this number fluctates considerably more than the military population. Category: Places